Vince Staples announces new album release
Long Beach emcee Vince Staples is one of hip-hop’s most versatile young artists. Slowly but surely rising to prominence over the last decade, he has successfully carved out his own lane in the genre with a unique sound that can’t be labelled, and now he is releasing a new album.
Entitled Dark Times, Staples revealed that his eighth studio album will come out through Def Jam on May 24th. Staples’ last project, Ramona Park Broke My Heart, was released in 2022, and to accompany his latest announcement, the Big Fish Theory lyricist has released the single ‘Shame On The Devil.’
Speaking about the single, Staples released a statement explaining, “It’s me mastering some things I’ve tried before that I wasn’t great at in the beginning. It’s a testament to musical growth, song structure—all the good stuff.” He also called the song a “personal achievement.”
The album, recorded in LA, was made in just seven months, and its dystopian themes made naming the project easy for Staples. The artwork of Dark Times features a faintly seen noose. Speaking about the core themes of the LP, Staples told publications, “I’m Black, and that’s what we’re evading. We all have our things that could kill us. We all have that imminent threat.”
Ramona Park Broke My Heart was hailed as one of the best albums of the year by Clash, Complex, The Fader, Rolling Stone, and Vulture, to name a few magazines. The LA Times labelled Staples “a nimble rapper, deftly manoeuvring through verses depicting the street politics of his native Long Beach.”
In addition to focusing on his music, Staples has been focusing on his satirical faux docuseries, The Vince Staples Show, which proved extremely popular. As well as featuring the emcee, the series also stars Vanessa Bell Calloway, Andrea Ellsworth, Naté Jones, Arturo Castro, Scott MacArthur, Bryan Greenberg and Myles Bullockas.
You can view the tracklist for Dark Times below as well as hear the latest single from Vince Staples, ‘Shame On The Devil’ which is currently available on all streaming platforms.
TRACKLIST
- Close Your Eyes and Swing
- Black & Blue
- Government Cheese
- Children’s Song
- Shame On the Devil
- Étouffée
- Liars
- Justin
- “Radio”
- Nothing Matters
- Little Homies
- Freeman
- Why Won’t the Sun Come Out?